Crowd enjoys Pentathlon fencing, riding events at Nathan Benderson Park on Friday
UNIVERSITY PARK -- Sports enthusiasts Friday flocked to see finalists in the women's fencing and riding events at a Sarasota pentathlon competition, and this time, the weather was perfect.
A warm, sunny day with little wind aided organizers in attracting spectators to the Modern Pentathlon World Cup I competition at Nathan Benderson Park. The opening night ceremonies Tuesday had been plagued by atypical cold and heavy rain.
Cathy Vegliante, a retiree who lives part time at Siesta Key and part time in Connecticut, said she had come to the park in order to cheer on Hungarian friends and relatives who were competing in the games.
"The park is magnificent," she said, looking around at the lake, white tents and bleachers full of spectators enjoying fencing matches that took place on a sunlit stage.
"The fencing, we're learning about; we're getting interested in all these events," she said.
"It's great entertainment."
She was with retirees Steve and Elizabeth Olajos, of Sarasota and Connecticut, who said that they had enjoyed the competition so far, but had trouble ordering tickets.
"We were making reservations online, and it's not user-friendly," Elizabeth Olajos said.
The party was also surprised that no one had asked for their tickets when they entered the event venues.
Jill Muller, 55, a teacher visiting the area from Great Neck, N.Y., and Rita Dean, 62, a retiree from Sarasota, both said they thought it would be fun to see the equestrian event and to attend the nearby Circus Sarasota.
"We found this was going on, this is great to go," said Dean.
Looking forward to pony rides at Pentathlon Village, which offers activities for children and adults through Sunday, were the children of Tampa residents Renee and Brett Farmer.
"I want to ride the ponies," explained Tristan Farmer, 5, who was accompanied by his grandparents and his sister, Audrey, 6, and his baby brother, Mickey, 9 months.
The park was not yet able to determine the number of spectators it had attracted, but officials said they would have attendance information at a later date.
Pentathletes were honored Friday at Circus Sarasota, set between Benderson Park and the Benderson Development Co.'s Mall at University Town Center.
Some attended the show, including the oldest pentathlete, Bob Noble, 57, a flight paramedic from Vancouver, British Columbia.
Noble said he was older than almost all his young teammates' dads; most of his fellow Canadian athletes are about the same age as his sons, who are 21 and 23.
"The coaches are older than me, thank goodness," he said at a reception outside the circus tent.
Noble said he did not make the finals this year, but had no regrets because he loves sports, especially fencing and riding.
"I come out and have fun," he said, although in his long career he has competed in many world-class events, and even qualified for the 1980 Olympics, which Canada and 65 other nations boycotted because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
The Pentathlon competition continues through Sunday at the park, 5851 Nathan Benderson Circle, and at the Selby Aquatic Center and the neighboring Evalyn Sadlier Jones YMCA, 8301 Potter Park Drive, all in Sarasota.
In other news
The board of Suncoast Aquatic Nature Center Associates Inc., which oversees the maintenance of the of Nathan Benderson park, received a clean report Thursday from auditors Gregory, Sharer & Stuart, P.A., of St. Petersburg.
"This was a good report; not that I was expecting anything different," said board chairman Bill Robinson.
Sara Kennedy, University Parkway reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7031. Follow her on Twitter @sarawrites.
This story was originally published February 21, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Crowd enjoys Pentathlon fencing, riding events at Nathan Benderson Park on Friday."